May

2

Naashá

The Navajo word naashá is a 1st Person Singular verb that means “to walk around”. You’ll remember it from the “Introducing Yourself in Navajo” post.

Most Navajo action words have 9 different forms (12, if you count the ‘second’ third person form) that reflect the point of view and the quantity of those engaged in the action. Additionally, there are different conjugated forms of the same action depending on “tense”, or more specifically the state of an act - not started, started and ongoing, started and completed, repeating, and so forth.

Here is the conjugated verb “to walk around” - which is an ongoing act (like English “present tense”):

• naashá - I walk around
• neiitʼaash - You walk around
• neiikai - He/she/it walks around
• naniná - We two walk around
• naahʼaash - You two walk around
• naahkai - Those two walk around
• naaghá - We three (or more) walk around
• naaʼaash - You three (or more) walk around
• naakai - They three (or more) walk around

The earlier post is an example of one of it’s uses. With “[place]-di dę́ę́’ naashá” you can express where you are from. You’d literally be saying “From [place] I walk around”.

“Phoenixdi dę́ę́’ neiikai.” (From Phoenix she walks around; She is from Phoenix.)

Try sounding them out on your own and then we’ll update with post with the full pronunciation later.

If you’d like to hear a full set of pronunciations, head to our SoundCloud page – http://snd.sc/ZW0X8Z and give the Navajo Pronunciation Collection a listen. 

Apr

30

Introducing Yourself in Navajo

Part of the new Navajo Pronunciation Collection are a few lines to introduce yourself in front of groups. In Navajo, it wasn’t very common for people to include their name when they met new groups of people. Much more relevant then, as is now, are the clans and the homesite.

Starting the introduction off is a greeting:

• Yá’át’ééh (It is good; welcome; hello)
• shik’éí dóó shidine’é (my family and my people, friends)

Following that is usually the name of the person (we’ll use Fenton as an example here):

• Shí éí Fenton yinishyé (I am called Fenton)

The name you say should always be your real name; any nicknames or titles shouldn’t be included. Following this are the clans.

In Navajo culture, every person has four clans in the following order: the mother’s first clan, the father’s first clan, the maternal grandfather’s first clan, and the paternal grandfather’s first clan. In English, many people will shorten this part to just “I am ___(mother’s clan)___ born for ___(father’s first clan)___.”

The pronunciation clip demonstrates how this is said in Navajo (the italicized words are clans):

• Tódích’íí’nii nishłį́
• Hashk’aan Hadzohí bashishchiin
• Tł’ááshchí’í dashicheii
• Hooghanłání dashinalí

And then following all of this is the phrase:

• Ákót’éego diné nishłį́ (In this way, I am a Navajo male)

The feminine version is:

• Ákót’éego diné asdzáán nishłį́ (In this way, I am a Navajo woman)

If one has a heritage that is not part of the clan system, that clan can be substituted with the word a different heritage. For example, Naakai Łizhinii refers to those of African descent - literally it means ‘the black/dark ones that walk about” - or Bilagáana (white people), Naakai dine’é (Mexican people), Kiis’áanii or Oozéí (Hopi), or any other heritage.

The way this clan system is structured results in the mother’s clan being carried forward always, whereas the father’s clan cycles out after two generations.

Towards the end are the places one is from. This is commonly expressed in two ways: where one currently lives, and where one is originally from. The pronunciation presents it in this way (place names are italicized; -di means “at”):

• Beesh Sinildi kééhasht’į́ (I reside at Winslow, where the metal lays)
• Tsin Názbąs déé’ naashá (From Round Cedar I walk around)

(These two statements are joined by ndi, which equates to “but…”)

And then to close off the introduction is:

• Ahéhee’ (Thank You! I am grateful!)

This is the basic introduction in Navajo.

Apr

22

Bįįh

The Navajo word bįįh refers to the deer.

It is held that early Diné people hunted deer, and from these created buckskin clothing. The leather was also used in creating kélchí (kéłchí) - or moccasins - and the feminine variant ké ntsaaí.

Very little was wasted when it came to hunting and capturing animals. Deer provided sustenance and also imparted a mark of skill to hunters of bįįh. 

In Navajo tradition, the First Woman and First Man (Áłtsé Asdzą́ą́n and Áłtsé Hastiin) were formed partly from deer hide. There are also hunting stories that convey experiences of early hunters through struggles and subsequent encounters with talking spirits, which impart knowledge to the hunter.

There are also several deer clans, such as Bįįh Bitoodnii (Deer Springs), Bįįh Yáázh Dine’é (Little Deer People), Bįįh Tsoh Dine’é (Big Deer People), Bįįh Dine’é Táchii’nii (The Deer People of the Red Running Into Water clan). Some of these clans are of Hopi descent.